We’ve been waiting for the news to drop, and now it has: Compton, A Soundtrack, the hugely anticipated new Aftermath/Interscope set from Dr. Dre, will street on 8/7, one week before the madly buzzing N.W.A. biopic, Straight Outta Compton, hits movie screens. The announcement came, fittingly enough, on Dre’s Beats 1 radio show, The Pharmacy.

Heeeey, buddy! There's a whole lot goin' on in the radio world. For one, KidinaKorner/Interscope's X Ambassadors are going into their eighth week atop the chart at Alternative. At Rhythm, XO/Republic's The Weeknd defends his throne from potent charges by Ultra/Columbia's OMI and Capitol's Silento. However, OMI and his team will be cheering loudly, as he seizes the #1 spot at Pop. Follow the links for details, and remember, don't drink and DJ... or do. We really don't care.

"DOWN" IS THE NEW DIRECTION

7/31/15

SYCO/Columbia's One Direction set the web (and many hearts) ablaze last night when they dropped brand new single, "Drag Me Down," which is currently #1 at iTunes. The announcement was first made by band member Liam Payne via Twitter, who described it as a "bit of a surprise." Take a listen, luv...

During a visit to Y98 St. Louis, Capitol's gifted Irish troubadour Gavin James queries label promo goddess Patty Morris and station PD Marty Linck about the U.S. news cycle. "What's all this I'm hearing about deflated balls?" he asked. "Don't you Yanks have a pill for that?" Later, the three frolicked in a kiddie pool filled with Guinness.

Jason Derulo, Fifth Harmony and Steve Aoki will headline Pandora Summer Crush, a seasonal celebration at L.A. Live on 8/15. Derulo has also curated a mixtape for the occasion, which Pandora users can check out here.

This week, HITS' man behind the scenes looks back on the distinguished career of outgoing MTV chief Van Toffler and locates the tipping point at which the storied channel ceased to be recognizable as Music Television. I.B.'s column also delves into the latest action in the label and streaming sectors. We strongly suspect you’ll come across some information you didn’t know.